Peak Experience

My boss is interested in peak experience. He wonders if there is a recipe.

"You will search in vain for a Maslovian recipe to create peak experiences," writes life coach and 'philosophical counsellor' Tim Lebon.  "The reason is explained in Colin Wilson's New Pathways in Psychology (page 19).  Wilson asked Maslow whether you can create peak experiences at will.

"No, Or almost entirely no!", Maslow asserted. " In general, we are "Surprised by Joy".. Peaks come unexpectedly .... You can't count on them.  And hunting them is like hunting happiness. c's best not done directly. It comes as a by-product, an epiphenomenon, for instance, of doing a fine job at a worthy task you can identify with".

"Colin Wilson  thinks the above is only partly true. He thinks they have a structure that can be duplicated (p. 21). The preconditions are energy, vigilance, alertness, preparedness.

"The fact that the full text of Religions, Values and Peak Experiences is to be found in the Psychedelic Library suggests another possible way to have peak experiences ...  The current author would suggest that creativity, love, contact with nature, sport, meditation, parenting are other possible sources of peak experiences. There is also a connection worth exploring between peak experiences and flow, and between peak experiences and the writings of Viktor Frankl."